It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas
by TheGirlWhoRemembers
Summary: 25 Christmas-themed ficlets, one for each day until December 25th. Or, my MacGyver advent calendar. December 25th: Christmas is a time for family. A time for your loved ones.
1. December 1st

AN: These stories are all set in the same universe, my _Every End is a Beginning/Somewhere in the Middle_ AU. However, quite a lot of them make sense without knowledge of that AU and many are reasonably canon-compliant, so you should still be able to read this story (or, at least, 16 or 17 of the ficlets in it) without having read those two stories. Furthermore, for those that do reference that AU more and don't make sense without knowledge of it, you only have to have read _Every End is a Beginning,_ not _Somewhere in the Middle._ I'll put a note at the start of each ficlet as to whether you need knowledge of that AU or not. The ones that do need knowledge of that AU all have pretty major spoilers for _Every End is a Beginning,_ so if you haven't read it, but might in the future, you might want to skip those chapters! The biggest spoiler is for events that occur in the very first chapter of that story, so my recommendation is that if you care about the spoilers, read the first 'episode', The Falling, before we get to December 9th.

This one is set pre-canon, and canon-compliant with Season 1 and Season 2 (so far). No knowledge of _Every End is a Beginning_ required.

* * *

 **KUNDUZ PROVINCE**

 **AFGHANISTAN**

* * *

Jack tossed an MRE down in front of the unit's young blonde EOD (not that one could tell all that easily, with his hair hidden by a bandanna, you had to examine his eyebrows – he seemed to hate his military haircut and concealed it whenever possible).

Jack had been sceptical when he'd first met the young EOD tech. Mac wasn't old enough to drink and looked like he belonged in some teen movie, not disarming bombs in a combat zone.

But he'd been quickly won over (like almost every single one of Mac's other doubters – of which there'd been many, Jack knew), as Mac had shown how capable he was, how talented and brilliant he was, and had demonstrated that in many ways, he was mature beyond his years (in a way that Jack knew often came through hardship, which he was quite sure Mac had known plenty of in his short life). It'd also become very clear to Jack very quickly that Mac was simply one of those people who were genuinely _good_ in all ways, and besides, Mac was practically impossible not to love.

(He was a little bit like a puppy. One of those super-brave golden-retriever-type puppies that saved their owners after they'd been injured in a fall or something, but definitely a puppy.)

Long story short, Mac had quite quickly taken up residence in a special place in Jack's heart, right next door to that space that Riley had occupied (and still did, even if Jack wasn't sure he'd ever see her again, or, more importantly, if she would ever – could ever - forgive him).

Jack trusted Mac and his abilities. Managed to treat him, despite his youth, despite the fact that he occupied that special place in his heart, despite that protectiveness he felt for the younger man, more or less the same as the other men in the unit a fair bit of the time, and always when they were on duty.

But there were times when that protectiveness and that affection he felt for him came out too, and right now was one of those times.

Jack gave a wry smirk as Mac looked up at him.

'Christmas dinner, brother. Eat up, we gotta get some meat onto your bones!'

He plonked himself down on the ground next to the younger man as Mac rolled his eyes, but picked up the MRE anyway and started eating with an eagerness that Jack remembered from his own youth.

Namely, a desire to ingest as many calories as possible, without care for what the calorie source was.

Just at that moment, as that thought crossed Jack's mind, Mac made a face as he chewed a particularly distasteful bite of MRE, and Jack amended the thought.

With _little_ care for what the calorie source was.

MREs weren't pleasant to eat.

Useful, palatable (most of the time), but definitely far removed from tasty.

And they tasted even worse on Christmas Eve.

Jack made a start on his own dinner, making a face as he did so. Mac seemed lost in thought, going down the rabbit hole of his Einstein-level brain (Jack had heard scuttlebutt that Mac's IQ was actually _higher_ than Einstein's by a couple of points, which was one of the most believable pieces of scuttlebutt he had ever heard), and while Jack was all for his friend's big brain and what it could spit out and Mac putting it to use (he enjoyed thinking, clearly, and liked time to think about and process things), he got the feeling that the thoughts running through Mac's head might not be very pleasant (Christmas Eve, Kunduz, Afghanistan, eating MREs – Jack wasn't a talented mathematician by any means, but even he could do that calculation), so took it upon himself to nudge Mac out of the rabbit hole.

'Man, it should be against the Geneva Convention to have to eat MREs on Christmas Eve.'

Mac gave a snort of half-laughter, and nodded in agreement.

'Yeah, this should definitely qualify as cruel and unusual punishment.'

Jack took another bite of his MRE and swallowed, then pointed at Mac with his spoon.

'What'd you rather be eating, brother?'

Mac chewed his own meal for a moment with a smile, lost in a happy memory, happy thoughts.

'Bozer makes an incredible Christmas spread every year, but honestly…' He gestured to his MRE. '…I'd settle for absolutely anything cooked by him.'

Jack nodded, losing himself in his own memories for a moment.

'Yeah, brother, I'd never thought I'd say this, but I'd give a thousand bucks to be eating my sister's bacon stuffing right now.' Jack jabbed the air in front of Mac's chest with his spoon. 'And that's saying something, 'cause even if it's got bacon in it, she's not much of a cook.'

Mac nodded, a little smile on his face, a halfway bittersweet smile.

'Christmas is a time for family.'

Jack, too, nodded, reaching out and putting a hand on Mac's shoulder.

'Amen to that, brother. Amen to that.'

* * *

AN: Or, in which an element of _Just Another Patriotic Guy_ manages to slip into this universe…as seems to happen all the time for me, a quick, throwaway line of banter (Mac and Jack complain about having to eat MREs on Christmas Eve) manages to become a full-fledged ficlet. Were there enough Mac-and-Jack feels in here for you guys? Or does the limit not exist?

Tomorrow's ficlet: 'I know you and your mom don't make a big deal of it, but…it's Christmas; I had to get you a little something.'

Can you guess what tomorrow's ficlet is about? ;)


	2. December 2nd

AN: This is set pre-canon and is canon-compliant with both Seasons 1 and 2 (so far). No knowledge of the _Every End is a Beginning_ AU required whatsoever.

Thoughts on 2.09, CD-ROM + Hoagie Foil, at the end of this chapter, with spoilers.

* * *

 **RILEY AND DIANE'S RESIDENCE**

 **LA**

* * *

There was a series of knocks on Riley's bedroom door, loud and clear and familiarly slightly obnoxious, and with a roll of her eyes (she was _this_ close to getting in; she knew it), she pulled off her headphones and navigated to a more innocuous-looking webpage.

(Sure, Jack was a bathroom tile salesman and not very computer-literate, but she wasn't taking any chances.)

She opened the door, revealing her mother's boyfriend. With a grin, Jack held out an envelope to her, plain white with a slightly-wonky bright-red bow on it.

'Merry Christmas, Riley.' He shrugged. 'I know you and your mom don't make a big deal of it, but…' His grin became a little more child-like. 'It's Christmas; I had to get you a little something.'

Riley opened the envelope.

A _little something_ was apparently a gift voucher for her very favourite tech store, which sold everything she adored from video games to parts for a custom rig.

A gift voucher with a very generous sum of money on it.

She looked up at Jack, so, so moved and full of gratitude on the inside, but with an eyebrow quirked in disbelief and scepticism on the outside.

'How did you-'

Jack put his hands up in supplication, but there was a little something in his eyes that seemed, to Riley, to show that he understood that she loved the present.

'Hey, I ain't blind, I know you're into the computer stuff.' He shrugged. 'And bathroom tile's been selling real well lately.'

(Riley wasn't completely sure what it was, but there was something _off_ about the last sentence.)

But there was a little fuzzy warm feeling in her chest, because Jack _noticed_ , because Jack _cared_ , because Jack loved her almost as much as Riley's mom loved her.

Because Jack really, truly, was the closest thing to a father she'd ever had.

So Riley reached out and hugged him.

'Merry Christmas, Jack.'

He hugged her back just as tightly, and she could hear the fondness, the affection, the love in his voice when he responded.

'Merry Christmas, Riley.'

* * *

Tomorrow's ficlet: 'Merry Christmas, Annabelle.'

I think that makes tomorrow's ficlet's plot/focus pretty clear…

Thoughts on 2.09, CD-ROM + Hoagie Foil: I don't know where to start with that episode, there were so many threads, so:

Firstly – I liked solo!Cage, I like the way she, Mac and Jack worked in this episode. I think the writers have done a good job in the last three eps with balancing giving her a role and keeping that dynamic we all fell in love with in Season 1. In terms of Mac waking up to her being by his bedside…well, I see why they did it, given the fact that they're definitely running with Mac/Cage (still not sold), I think it was better handled than some of the previous Mac/Cage scenes. I do kind of wish it'd been Jack, but he _is_ helicopter-parenting two really stubborn 'kids' determined to do everything themselves.

Secondly – Mac going solo searching for his dad, Riley asking Jack not to interfere – I'm a bit annoyed at Mac, but he seems to have made up with Jack about it, Riley's reasons are better, methinks. I think it's in-character, Riley especially, but I think it's going to blow up in someone's face.

Thirdly – Bozer's tragic backstory. Oh, Bozer…and why does everyone have to have a tragic backstory? (Side note: I think they based his brother's death on the reason why Mac has an aversion to guns in the original series?)

Fourthly – the intrigue in this episode. Ellwood is involved in something bad. Inevitably, this is going to end badly, it's just a question of exactly how. Matty in the film that Mac's dad probably left for him – three possibilities, I think. One, Mac's dad is a spy, like Matty (that may blow up in their faces; can you imagine how mad Mac would be if Matty knew the truth about his dad all along?), two, either Matty or Mac's dad is a bad guy and is manipulating everyone, three, there was an accident of some sort while Jill was restoring the film, leading to Matty being in it, and it's a red herring. I've got two bets for the mid-season finale: either we have that whole Ellwood mess and Jack helps Riley either save or stop her father (or both) or we have whatever's going on with Mac's dad being revealed. Maybe even both – what if it's Mac's dad who wants Ellwood dead?

Finally – little chemist rants – VX gas can't possibly be that shade of green (the colour would come from impurities – we admittedly say in chemistry that a little colour goes a long way in solids, but it would be different for gases as the particles are more dispersed, I'm quite sure –it'd have to be really impure), and I think that argon gas wouldn't make a very good stand-in for it. (I think you could probably release a little bit of the gas into something like a balloon and run some really quick tests based on Cage's lie that it was argon; argon's an inert noble gas, very different from VX, an organophosphate!) Also, with Carson's lab – we don't keep our chemicals next to our glassware, and nobody has that much clean glassware lying on the shelf! People would steal it! And we're too lazy to always wash glassware/need to keep everything!


	3. December 3rd

AN: This is canon-compliant with Season 1, and only slightly non-compliant with Season 2, for reasons that will become clear. No knowledge of the _Every End is a Beginning_ AU is required. For those who have read it – this is set the Christmas straight after that story finishes. According to an online transcript I read, Pena's wife's name is Denise. Since I already gave her a name in my _Every End is a Beginning_ AU, I'm sticking with Rachel.

To Mac Fan – I know you're right about why the gas was bright green and why Cage picked argon and the mercs didn't run any tests; this is just the sort of thing that annoys me really easily and I like to rant about (a little like how Mac gets annoyed at Jack's idiom-mangling?). Sorry for the grumpiness! In terms of the glassware – yeah, I totally get why they did it for the show, you're right, and maybe it really just is that Aussie chemists are really lazy…or maybe it's even just the ones at my uni. Anyway – sorry if I annoyed you/upset you!

* * *

 **PENA FAMILY RESIDENCE**

 **LA**

* * *

With a smile, Mac, a parcel under his arm, wrapped in bright-green wrapping paper decorated with bright-red reindeer, knocked on the front door.

Moments later, the door was opened by Rachel, who smiled broadly at him, and, as he stepped inside, called out for her daughter.

'Annabelle! We've got a visitor!'

The brown-haired girl, now eight years old and, in her words, a big girl, stuck her head into the corridor, her face breaking out into a broad grin when she saw Mac, and bounded down the hall and threw her arms around him.

'Mac!'

With a chuckle, Mac reached out with his free arm and hugged her back.

'Hi, Annabelle.' She let go of him and he crouched down and handed her the present. 'I got you a Christmas present.'

The little girl's eyes lit up as she took the box, and she looked imploringly up at her mom.

'Can I open it? Please, Mom? _Please_?'

Rachel looked down at Mac, who just gave a little grin that reminded Rachel of a child's, and she nodded at her daughter.

'Yes, but take Mac to the living room and ask him if he'd like something to drink first, okay?' Her smile widened a little. 'And don't forget your surprise!'

Annabelle nodded vigorously, and still holding the present, led Mac down the hallway, deposited the present on the coffee table, and insisted he sat down, before just as insistently offering him something to drink.

A couple of minutes later, her mother's instructions satisfied, Mac and Annabelle sat on the couch, each with a grape juice box, as Annabelle carefully peeled the tape off her present, then the wrapping paper, revealing a box with a picture of a blue car on it.

She cocked her head to the side slightly.

'What is it?'

Mac chuckled, and gestured to the description on the side of the box.

'It's called a tether car.' He paused for a moment. 'When your dad was a teenager, he used to spend his summers working as a mechanic, fixing cars in the local shop. So, I thought it'd be cool if we built this together, and that way, I can teach you about one of his passions.'

Annabelle grinned up at him, looking up from her examination of her new tether car.

'It's so cool.' She remembered her manners and her grin widened. 'Thank you!'

Mac just grinned right back.

'Oh, you're welcome.'

The little girl grinned for another moment longer, then reached out, grabbed her juice box and sipped it for a moment, before her eyes widened again and she scrambled to her feet, putting down her juice again.

'I got you something for Christmas too! Well, I made you something for Christmas…remember how you were telling me about improvising and making something useful out of stuff that people don't want anymore?' Mac simply nodded with a rather proud smile, as Annabelle practically ran into her room, and returned with an item that was, to Mac's practiced eyes, comprised of several old boxes, two tin cans, a plastic flower pot and fabric scraps, as well as plenty of glitter. Annabelle proudly held the object out to him. 'Well…this doesn't actually do anything…but it's pretty and 100% recycled…even the glitter! I traded my marshmallow treat to a girl from school for it!'

Mac took it with a grin.

(The structural integrity was questionable. Objectively, it wasn't that aesthetically pleasing, but in Mac's eyes it was beautiful.)

'Thanks, Annabelle. I've got just the shelf to put it on in my house.'

He did indeed; there was space over the mantel, and he thought it'd go quite well with the eclectic collection of objects he and Bozer had in their house, and even if it didn't, it definitely had to go somewhere special. She grinned proudly, as her mom walked into the living room, took one look at the juice boxes, and shook her head with a fond smile. Annabelle settled herself back onto the couch, pulling her new tether car into her lap and picking up her juice box again.

'Merry Christmas, Mac.'

Mac's grin widened.

'Merry Christmas, Annabelle.'

He picked up his own juice box and took a sip, that child-like little grin returning, and Rachel simply shook her head fondly and smiled affectionately again.

* * *

AN: In case you're wondering, the two non-compliant things are Annabelle's age (she's one year older than she should be in canon due to the fact that _Every End is a Beginning_ spans approximately one and a half years instead of just one year), and the far more obvious Mac-gives-her-the-tether-car-for-Christmas.

Tomorrow's ficlet: It was Bozer, in Riley's mind, who'd made Christmas _Christmas._


	4. December 4th

AN: Canon-compliant with both Seasons 1 and 2 (so far), if you consider this to be set sometime in the future beyond these two seasons. No need to have knowledge of the _Every End is a Beginning_ AU. Again, for those who have read it – this is set the Christmas after _Every End is a Beginning_ ends.

* * *

 **MACGYVER'S RESIDENCE**

 **LA**

* * *

Bozer grinned as he and Riley put up the Christmas decorations, stringing lights and tinsel over the fireplace mantel, putting a wreath around the polar bear by the door's neck, and plugging in Mac's once-again modified gumball machine.

His girlfriend was singing along to the Christmas carols they had playing in the background, smiling in that way that made her seem so much younger and far more _weightless,_ that smile that Bozer absolutely loved and had made it a life mission to ensure appeared on Riley's face at least once a week.

Not that long ago (even if it sometimes seemed like a lifetime ago, given all that had happened since), Riley hadn't believed in the magic of Christmas.

Now, in Bozer's mind, she was a walking embodiment of the magic of Christmas.

And he would do anything, absolutely anything, even if he wasn't a badass like Jack or a genius mechanic/engineer/chemist/physicist/improviser like Mac or a brilliant computer whiz like Riley herself, to make sure that Riley kept believing in the magic of Christmas for the rest of her life.

* * *

Riley sang along to _Frosty the Snowman_ as she twirled a popcorn garland around Mac's candy-cane-paperclip-and-duct-tape Christmas tree, smiling as she did so.

She glanced over at Bozer, who was busy threading more popcorn garlands, with fierce dedication and a bright smile and quite a lot of off-key singing-along.

As she watched, he dramatically acted out part of the song, a little lost in his own world. When he caught her watching, he just grinned wider and bowed, pretending to dramatically remove an invisible top hat from his head and twirl it like an old-school magician.

Riley gave a snort of laughter and shook her head at him fondly, then returned to her task.

 _That_ Christmas, Mac had moved the Earth. Jack had served as a human conductor.

Together, they had saved the world.

But at the end of the day, it was Bozer who'd moved Christmas for them, because they'd had to spend it in a Chinese prison.

It was Bozer who'd made Christmas _Christmas_ (cheesy decorations and some of the best food she'd ever eaten in her life and family and _home_ ), and even if his hacking skills still needed a lot of work, even if he'd never take out five armed bad guys, even if he'd never quite grasp rocket science, that was what made Bozer special.

That was _her_ Bozer.

* * *

AN: #BozerAppreciation, because he deserves it.

Tomorrow's ficlet: 'Beth, can I introduce you to my dad…well, uh, re-introduce, I suppose…as my girlfriend tonight?'

It is very obvious who says that, right?


	5. December 5th

AN: Canon-compliant with Season 1, not with Season 2. This won't make sense if you're not familiar with the _Every End is a Beginning_ AU. This is set the Christmas after it finishes and references the chapters The Gentleman Inventor and Last First Date in _Somewhere in the Middle._

* * *

 **MACGYVER'S RESIDENCE**

 **LA**

* * *

As they worked on the egg nog on the deck (Bozer had commandeered the kitchen and was being a little territorial right now, so Mac had to improvise with the grill), Mac glanced over at Beth, who was carefully cracking eggs as he put the finishing touches on the grill modifications.

'Beth, can I introduce you to my dad…well, uh, re-introduce, I suppose…as my girlfriend tonight?'

Mac's dad was coming in from Tahoe for Christmas, and he'd mentioned Beth quite a few times since Thanksgiving in their phone conversations, and though he'd never outright _asked_ if she was Mac's girlfriend, Mac got the sense that his dad was trying to hold back, out of respect for the fact that he was twenty-six and the fact that given their history, he accepted that there were some things Mac wouldn't want to talk to him about.

(That there would probably always be a bit of distance between them.)

Mac was very, very aware that his and Beth's relationship was definitely, definitely serious. Definitely a boyfriend/girlfriend relationship, a 'partners' relationship, not just two people 'seeing each other' or 'dating'.

 _I know I can be oblivious, but I also have an IQ over 160, and given the whole Murdoc-tried-to-kill-her-to-get-to-me-because-he-knows-I-have-feelings-for-her thing, and the associated events…well, that's definitely the proverbial writing on the wall, and I have excellent reading skills, and so does she._

Still, he thought it was important to get labels and terminology straight.

After all, it had only been four days since their first date.

Beth looked up from the eggs, cheeks a little pink, and smiled brightly at him.

'I'd like that very much, Mac.' She smiled at him a moment longer, and then gestured to the grill. 'Uh…Mac, I don't think it's supposed to be smoking…'

* * *

AN: Adorably-awkward!Mac is adorably awkward. That is all.

Tomorrow's ficlet: 'But if it's just egg nog …you're being _nice_ to me.'

Any guesses who says that and to whom?


	6. December 6th

AN: This one is canon-compliant with Season 1 and Season 2 (so far), and you don't need to have read _Every End is a Beginning._ For those who have, it's yet again set the Christmas straight after it ends.

* * *

 **MACGYVER'S RESIDENCE**

 **LA**

* * *

Matty smirked to herself as she ladled some egg nog into a mug, into which she'd already put a very healthy shot of very high proof vodka (a gift from a dear friend that she was willing to sacrifice a shot – or two – of to a very good cause). Hiding her smirk, she walked nonchalantly out to where Jack was sprawled out on the deck, on which it was lightly snowing, thanks to Mac's drone-mounted snowmaker, attempting to make a snow angel. She put her free hand on her hip when she got there, towering over him, for once.

'Pathetic, Jack.' She gestured to him and his snow angel effort. 'There's not even an inch of snow here!' Behind her, Mac's expression changed to his thinking face and he looked up at his snowmaker, pursing his lips in thought. Without even looking back at him, Matty pointed at him sternly. 'Don't you dare get any ideas, Baby Einstein, none of us want to be shovelling snow!' Bozer and Riley, who were tossing loose handfuls of snow at each other next to Mac, both sniggered. Matty held out the cup of egg nog to Jack, who'd sat up while she was lecturing Mac. 'Anyway, I thought you might like a drink after all that futile exercise.'

Jack looked very suspiciously at the cup of egg nog.

'Did you put some weird experimental drug in this? Is it a new truth serum? Am I gonna grow wings? Or become titanium?' Jack sniffed the egg nog. 'Or turn into a fifty-foot dinosaur?'

Mac threw his hands in the air in a very long-suffering manner (science could do many great things, but there was science _fact_ , and then there was science _fiction_ ). Riley rolled her eyes with exasperated affection, while Bozer seemed halfway between face-palming and getting ideas for his next movie.

Matty rolled her eyes.

'Like I want to get my ass handed to me by HR, Jack.' She jabbed at the air in front of his chest. 'And you've been watching _way_ too many movies.'

Jack still looked suspicious of the egg nog.

'But if it's just egg nog…' He looked at Matty as if she might be an alien imposter. '…You're being _nice_ to me.'

Matty put her hands on her hips.

'I'm always nice to you, Jack, when you aren't being an idiot.'

Jack looked between Matty and the egg nog, still sceptical and a little bemused.

'But you're almost never nice to me…'

Matty gave a little smirk.

'Exactly.'

And with that, she strode away, leaving a chuckling Mac, Bozer and Riley in her wake, as realization dawned on Jack's face.

'Ooh, burn!'

'Would you like some ice for that, old man?'

Jack shook his head and sipped at the egg nog absent-mindedly.

'Oh, come on, Matty!' He muttered half under his breath. 'And _that's_ why we call her the Hun.'

* * *

AN: Rest assured, Matty does love Jack (see 2.09, Scrubs in _Every End is a Beginning_ ), she just shows it particularly weirdly…

Please do not actually spike people's drinks – it is amusing in fiction, but not something (in my opinion) to do in real life – it may be illegal, actually…

Tomorrow's ficlet: And the Christmas bells that ring there are the clanging chimes of doom…say a prayer, pray for the other ones, at Christmas time it's hard…

Hint if you're keen to Sherlock what tomorrow's ficlet is about before then – those are song lyrics! Work out what the song is, and that's a pretty big clue!

I've also got a new multi-chap fic up – it's called _Just My Luck_ and the summary is as follows:

FBI colleagues and sworn enemies Riley and Bozer are forced by their boss Matty to work together. Meanwhile, Riley's mom bumps into her ex-boyfriend Jack at the supermarket (literally) and Bozer's roommate and BFF Mac texts a wrong number and somehow befriends 'Doc'. Or, another rom-com AU that no-one asked for.


	7. December 7th

AN: This won't make sense if you're not familiar with the _Every End is a Beginning_ AU. For those who have read it, it is set during the time period of 'episode' 2.09, Scrubs, though that really doesn't have much relevance to the story…

* * *

… _There's a world outside your window, and it's a world of dread and fear, where the only water flowing is the bitter sting of tears. And the Christmas bells that ring there are the clanging chimes of doom…_

* * *

 **MSF HOSPITAL**

 **ALEPPO**

 **SYRIA**

* * *

Beth let herself close her eyes for a moment, taking a few deep breaths.

Telling two parents who'd walked for several hours from their home in the countryside surrounding Aleppo, too poor to afford any other form of transport, to get their son, not even two, medical treatment, that there was nothing more they could do for their son, to say goodbye, because he was on death's door, was something that one simply couldn't do without being emotionally affected.

(Her mentor, Dr Chris Garcia, told her that was, in the end, a good thing. It meant she cared. The day she stopped valuing human life like she did now… _that_ was the day to worry.)

The mother's wail (heart-wrenching and full of anguish) cut through her thoughts, the implication clear.

It was _Christmas Eve._ This little boy hadn't even lived long enough to see his second _Christmas._

Beth closed her eyes again, willing herself not to cry.

She couldn't cry. She had to let go, pull herself into her doctor headspace.

There were more people who needed her help. Needed her training. What she could provide for them.

She let herself grieve one moment more for a little boy, not even two, taken far too soon by _measles_ , like far too many other children this hospital had seen.

The most innocent of innocent victims.

She took another deep breath, and when she opened her eyes again, her doctor's calm had settled across her face.

She hurried back down to the ER.

She had a job to do.

* * *

A young man (he couldn't have been any older than Beth), looking sweaty and exhausted and very, very worried, hurried into the ER, carrying a woman, probably a couple of years younger than him, who was very, very pregnant, and heaving and panting.

'Help, please!'

Beth quickly mentally went over the other patients they had in the ER (thankfully, it was a quiet night – always good in an ER– two boys with broken bones, a young woman who'd taken a knock to the head due to a structurally-unsound roof, a small girl who'd started going blind due to what was almost certainly vitamin A deficiency), and hurried over to the woman who was clearly in labour. Imminent childbirth was definitely the most urgent case, especially, she thought, as she sanitized her hands and forearms as one of the nurses directed the man to set his wife down on a gurney, given how narrow the woman's hips were, possibly due to malnutrition in her teens.

'What's your name?'

She asked in English, which was widely spoken in Aleppo, though Beth had managed to pick up a little bit of Arabic (with an atrocious accent, but understandable at least). Generally, she asked in English first, then tried Arabic.

(Faster communication meant she could do her job better.)

'Dima.'

The woman gave a low cry as soon as she'd gotten that word out, and Beth, after checking that the nurse had drawn the curtains, lifted the edge of the woman's skirt.

'Dima, I'm going to check how close your baby is…' The baby was crowning. This was either a very fast labour, or it'd taken Dima a very long time to get to the hospital. 'Okay, your baby is coming right now, I need you to push…'

* * *

As the nurse handed Dima her daughter and her husband Elias grinned proudly, Beth's brow furrowed as she performed a quick post-partum examination.

Dima had lost a lot of blood, and was still losing more. The towels that the gurney had been quickly covered with were very absorbent, yet they were saturated with blood now.

Beth pulled out her stethoscope, and asked Dima, calmly, if she could just quickly measure her heart rate. The woman nodded and passed her daughter over to her husband, and Beth pressed her stethoscope to the woman's chest.

Her heart rate was high. Far too high. She was breathing too quickly, too. And as Beth straightened up, measurements done, Dima shivered.

Beth turned to the nurse and quickly fired off instructions, which made the young couple look over at her with great concern.

'She's got a post-partum haemorrhage, probably serious judging from how fast symptoms have developed. We need to get her onto an IV, Misoprostal and a unit of blood and find a bed in the maternity ward.' Beth turned back to the young couple as the nurse hurried off to make arrangements, speaking calmly but gently. 'You're losing too much blood. We can treat this; we're getting some medicine and blood for you now…' As she explained, Beth started shifting Dima's clothes out of the way, so that she could massage the other woman's uterus. 'This will help stop the bleeding…'

* * *

A couple of days later, Chris told her that Dima and Elias were asking to see her, before they left the hospital, so Beth abandoned her breakfast and made her way to the ward where Dima had been placed.

The young woman, cheeks full of colour, was cradling her baby girl to her chest, sitting up and looking the picture of health. Her husband was smiling, completely besotted, at his wife and daughter.

She'd recovered very well, according to Chris, whose ward she'd been assigned to (he was a hospitalist; this was far more his area of specialty compared to Beth's).

The young couple smiled at her as she came into view, and before she could say anything, Elias spoke, the amount of gratitude in his voice almost embarrassing her.

'Thank you for saving Dima's life. For making sure that my daughter will have a mother.' He glanced over at the mother and daughter. ' _Thank you._ '

Beth smiled, but shook her head.

'I'm not the only one who helped to save her life. And…and that is my job.'

Elias simply shook his head, as did Dima, and he gestured to their baby girl.

'Dr Garcia told us your name is Bethany. So, so is hers.'

Beth actually did blush at that.

'You don't have to, I mean, I don't do this expecting anything-'

Elias cut her off with a wave of his hand.

'Bethany is a good name. Especially for a doctor. It was a village with an alms-house for the poor and where they cared for the sick.' He smiled as he turned and admired his daughter again. 'Maybe she will be a doctor too.'

The hope in his voice, in his eyes, the hope that rolled off both him and Dima, made Beth smile a little wider, and she gave a little nod.

'Maybe she will.'

* * *

 _It's Christmas time. There's no need to be afraid at Christmas time. At Christmas time, we let in light and banish shade, and in our world of plenty, we can spread a smile of joy. Throw your arms around the world at Christmas time. But say a prayer, pray for the other ones, at Christmas time it's hard…_

* * *

AN: The beginning and end of this ficlet come from the song _Do They Know It's Christmas?_ I'd like to say that I picked Beth's name because MacBeth (as in the Shakespeare play) was funny, in all honesty. The fact that Bethany was the name of a New Testament village where they cared for the sick and the poor was something I only found out while doing research for this ficlet, I have to admit. It is a very happy accident!

Tomorrow's ficlet: 'That, Jack, is a masterpiece! The flavours are perfectly counter-balanced to make the world's best egg nog, and you're gonna go ruining it with liquor?'

I think (I hope) it's pretty obvious who says that…tomorrow's ficlet is definitely very light-hearted!


	8. December 8th

AN: This one mostly makes sense (there are two sentences that won't make sense, but the whole ficlet still makes sense) if you haven't read _Every End is a Beginning._ Again, for those who have read it, it's set the Christmas right after it ends.

* * *

 **MACGYVER'S RESIDENCE**

 **LA**

* * *

Jack, noticing that Bozer's back was turned as he focused on preparing a side of macaroni and cheese to go with his pastrami, used every single one of his considerable stealth skills to make his way over to the kitchen counter, where the egg nog that been prepared earlier by Mac and Beth according to Bozer's exact recipe rested. Still using his super-spy skills, Jack pulled a hip flask out of his pocket, and was just about to tip it into the egg nog when he was thwacked none-too-gently on the wrist with a wooden spoon.

Jack yelped, pulling his hand back, as Bozer crossed his arms, looking very annoyed and extremely unimpressed.

'That, Jack, is a _masterpiece!_ The flavours are perfectly counter-balanced to make the world's best egg nog, and you're gonna go ruining it with liquor?'

Jack, too, looked very affronted, gesturing to his hip flask.

'Hey, man, I'll have you know that this is the finest Texas whiskey!'

Bozer simply shot him a _look_.

'And it'd still ruin the perfect equilibrium of flavour I've got going on in there!' Bozer gestured to the flask. 'Hand it over, Jack.'

Jack held up his hands in protest.

'But Boze-'

Mac's best friend simply shot him a look. A very firm look. A rather scary look.

(Maybe Mac really _hadn't_ been exaggerating when he'd said that Murdoc might not survive an encounter with Bozer if he was responsible for ruining the Thanksgiving turkey…)

Bozer held out his hand more insistently.

'Hand it over, Jack, or I'm gonna set Matty on you.'

Jack gulped and handed over the flask.

Matty had earned her nickname.

And she was inordinately fond of Bozer.

He wasn't taking any chances.

(He wanted to live to see the new year with all his parts intact, thank you very much.)

* * *

Tomorrow's ficlet: 'You know, the first person to declare that two people should kiss under a poisonous, parasitic weed must have been _really, really_ persuasive.'

Who says that? To whom? Who (inevitably) kisses whom under the mistletoe? I think some of you must be screaming out the answers in your head right now…and I assure you, you are almost-certainly right.

NOTE: Tomorrow's ficlet spoils a fairly major plot twist in the first 'episode' of _Every End is a Beginning._ If you intend to read that at some point, I strongly recommend reading that first 'episode' first!


	9. December 9th

AN: Again – this ficlet spoils a fairly major plot twist in the first 'episode' of _Every End is a Beginning._ It also really doesn't make sense if you haven't read it and is set the Christmas right after it ends.

* * *

 **MACGYVER'S RESIDENCE**

 **LA**

* * *

'You know, the first person to declare that two people should kiss under a poisonous, parasitic weed must have been _really, really_ persuasive.'

Mac, who was standing on a chair hanging up the mistletoe that Penny had brought and demanded that he suspend from the living room ceiling, gave a snort of laughter and looked down at Beth, who was smiling rather wryly.

'Mistletoe, if I remember correctly, was a symbol of love and friendship in Norse mythology…' He finished fiddling the mistletoe into place. 'Though it _is_ a pretty weird choice of plant.'

She nodded in agreement as Mac stepped off the chair, and raised her brows.

'Well, any excuse for a kiss, I guess.'

He stepped closer to her and tucked two fingers under her chin, a sly little smirk on his face.

'We shouldn't break with tradition…'

Beth shook her head a little, her cheeks pinking a bit and smile widening, putting her hands on his shoulders and reaching up to meet him halfway.

* * *

'Please tell me you've at least bought her dinner, Mac, or your grandfather's ghost is going to haunt you for the rest of your life.'

Mac pulled away from his girlfriend, ears reddening, to find his dad, who'd spoken, standing next to Jack by the kitchen.

He shot his partner a _look_ , and Jack simply affected an innocent expression. A _far_ too innocent expression.

(Mac made a mental note to assist Riley and Bozer with their plot to get Jack and Patricia caught under the mistletoe as revenge.)

Meanwhile, Beth, who was blushing rather furiously, waved awkwardly at his dad.

'Hi, Mr MacGyver.' Just as awkwardly, she stopped waving, her smile widening and becoming a bit more wry. 'And don't worry, he did buy me dinner, including some really, really delicious pie!'

James MacGyver, a profoundly happy, warm smile on his face, stepped a little closer to the young couple, addressing Beth first.

'You have to call me James _now_ , Beth.' The young woman ducked her head a little with a slightly-sheepish smile; the _Mr MacGyver,_ contrary to what he'd said to call him at Thanksgiving, had kind of just slipped out. James MacGyver smiled back at her, then turned to Mac, a rather familiar wry little smirk appearing on his face. A little smirk not too dissimilar from the one that his son had quite often. 'And you dodged a bullet there, Mac.'

Mac just shook his head with a chuckle.

* * *

Tomorrow's ficlet: How quickly things could change; that Christmas, that _wonderful_ Christmas, had only been a little over a month ago…

Tomorrow's is a doozy…if padaholic_316 (Ao3) or SheWhoRunsMazes (Fanfiction) are reading this work…just saying, I think you'll like tomorrow's ficlet.

Thoughts on 2.10, War Room + Ship:

Generally, I liked the episode.

I think that the Ellwood/Jack/Riley thing was handled well, I like how it resolved. I also like that Mac talked to Jack about Matty being in the video. My heart broke for poor Mac and also poor Zoe (they'd have made a pretty good couple, methinks – I like them more than Mac/Cage, I think they have better chemistry, personally).

I'm not so happy with the Bozer/Leanne – I generally liked the whole Bozer-at-spy-school storyline, I liked how Bozer was so infatuated with her (very in-character, methinks), but I'm not a fan of them getting together. I just don't feel it, though I may have some bias because I'm a Bozer/Riley fan. I was mostly hoping/thinking that she'd be Bozer's version of Kalei, but apparently not.

Two things I'd have liked to see – a Jack/Riley conversation after the resolution and Jack talking to Mac about Zoe. Of course, my solution is to write an episode tag! I'm finishing one up right now – keep an eye out for _Tea and Rocky Road!_

I'm also thinking of writing another one-shot version of this episode similar to Full Circle from _Two Paperclips and a Stick of Gum_ , my version of 1.19, Compass…anyone interested in reading that?


	10. December 10th

AN: Arguably, this is completely canon-compliant with Seasons 1 and 2 (so far). Thus, I think it does make sense even if you haven't read _Every End is a Beginning._ If you've read _Two Paperclips and a Stick of Gum –_ this is also very much compliant with The Asset.

* * *

 _She smiled as she reached out and hugged Jack, kissing him softly and gently on the cheek, before reaching out to hug another one of her friends, the people who'd somehow found their way through her walls of stone and ice and into her heart, the people who'd become her family…_

… _Mac grinned, an expression of pure happiness, looking innocent and young – as he was, really – as he surveyed the several pounds of paperclips and duct tape and gift vouchers to his favourite appliance shop and hardware store he'd been gifted for Christmas…_

… _She smiled again as she dug into a plateful of Bozer's excellent cooking, finishing her plate before helping herself to another spoonful of the amazing coleslaw…_

… _Riley looked younger, lighter, happier, more innocent, as if she believed in magic again, and even though she swore that her heart was probably more stone now than flesh-and-blood, that made it feel light in a way that stone really couldn't be…_

* * *

 **MAXIMUM SECURITY PRISON**

 **SOMEWHERE IN LA**

* * *

Patricia Thornton's eyes snapped open and instantly, she remembered her situation. Her eyes darted around the walls of her prison, and then, she let them close for a moment, hanging on to her dream.

Hanging on to those memories. Those _oh-so-precious_ memories. Moments of light and happiness and affection and care and _family._

Internally, she fought not to let tears gather in her eyes.

(How quickly things could change; that Christmas, that _wonderful_ Christmas, had only been a little over a month ago…)

Externally, she looked as calm and composed and cold as ever.

The benefits of a lifetime of training. The benefits of being a lifelong spy.

(She was not going to cry. Not now. Not here. Not when she was quite sure _they_ – whoever _they_ really were, though she had her strong suspicions, fears; not many people could pull off setting up the Phoenix's Director, after all – were watching.)

With an almost-inaudible sigh, Patricia Thornton closed her eyes again.

* * *

AN: #PatriciaThorntonDefenceSquad. Come to our side, we have cookies and Team-as-Family!

Tomorrow's ficlet: 'How's your gender-swapped mini-me, bro?'

Now, who would Bozer call Mac's gender-swapped mini-me? ;)


	11. December 11th

AN: This one won't make much sense if you're not familiar with _Every End is a Beginning_ and is set the Christmas after it ends.

* * *

 **MACGYVER'S RESIDENCE**

 **LA**

* * *

'…it's _awesome_ , Valerie, thanks!'

Mac grinned at the teenage girl on his laptop screen, who'd sent him approximately 1/3 of the engine of a 1973 Ford Mustang for Christmas.

Valerie grinned right back at him.

'Have you got plans for it yet?'

She sounded very, very eager and excited, and Mac chuckled and shook his head fondly.

'No, not yet, but it's going to become something very special.' He shrugged. 'Just don't know what yet.' His smile widened. 'But I'll let you know what I make it in to, promise.'

Valerie's grin widened.

'I think I already know what I'm going to do with some of your present…' Mac had sent her a box containing a selection of bits and bobs that he'd accumulated and thought were especially cool. '…Ralph's coming to visit for a couple of days straight after Christmas, and I thought we could make something together…'

* * *

Beth, Bozer and Riley looked up from their various Christmas preparations (it might only be the 23rd, but with their line of work, you prepared for occasions when you had the chance, since you might find yourself on a plane to Timbuktu – plausibly literally - in two hours' time) as Mac stepped out of his room, his Skype call with Valerie finished.

'How's your gender-swapped mini-me, bro?'

Mac smiled fondly.

'She's doing great, and she really liked my Christmas present.' Then, after a pause, his expression soured and he looked a bit like someone had stolen all his paperclips. 'But she won't stop talking about Ralph.' He ran a hand through his hair. 'She's only fourteen!'

Bozer, Riley and Beth exchanged fond, amused glances, with hints of smirks breaking through.

Bozer pointed at his roommate.

'Mac, man, when _you_ were fourteen, you had a massive crush on Darlene Martin, who in hindsight was just using you and being nice to you so you'd do all the work in chem class and her homework too…' Bozer looked rather apologetic and made a face. 'Sorry, bro, I should've picked up on that, shouldn't have made you ask her to Prom…'

Mac shook his head, reaching out to put a hand on Bozer's shoulder.

'It's fine, Boze. It wasn't your fault, and it's also ancient history.' He paused. 'Figuratively speaking.'

Beth reached out and put her own hand on Mac's forearm.

'With Ralph, Valerie's never going to have to worry about that…'

There was something soft and gentle and very happy in her voice, something born from empathy for the young genius that Mac mentored.

Mac nodded in agreement, quiet for a moment, before he sighed and ran a hand through his hair again.

'I know, and he sounds like a great kid, it's just…'

He shrugged and half-flung his hands into the air, which made Beth pat his arm with a wry little smile, Riley shake her head with much fond exasperation and a little smirk, and Bozer smirk widely and knowingly and point at his BFF.

'Bro, you're gonna be the world's worst overprotective dad one day.' He leaned over and stage-whispered to Beth. 'Good luck.'

That made Mac's ears turn very red and Beth's cheeks turn very pink.

'Um…'

'Uh…'

Riley rolled her eyes and socked her boyfriend none-too-gently in the arm.

' _Seriously_?' She shook her head. 'Too soon, Boze. _Way_ too soon.'

* * *

AN: I feel like Bozer would definitely make such a timing-inappropriate joke. It seemed very Bozer! And yes, I feel that Mac's got a bit of Daddy-on-the-porch-with-a-microwave-death-ray in him.

Tomorrow's ficlet: 'Boze, is that _pastrami_?'

You're not getting more of a hint than that!


	12. December 12th

AN: This is set pre-canon and is canon-compliant with Season 1 and Season 2 (so far) as best as I can tell. No knowledge of the _Every End is a Beginning_ AU is needed.

* * *

 **MACGYVER'S RESIDENCE**

 **LA**

* * *

Mac hummed _We Wish You a Merry Christmas_ under his breath as he busied himself putting up the Christmas decorations. It really was great to be home, more-or-less for good (he did still travel a lot for his new job at the 'think-tank', but it was nothing like being deployed), and this was a huge improvement over last Christmas (he shuddered internally at that thought – MREs for Christmas was about as low as you could go). He glanced over at the kitchen, where his roommate was hard at work, and did a double-take.

'Boze, is that _pastrami_?'

Bozer looked up from where he was carefully massaging the rub into the beef, and grinned.

'You bet, bro!' His expression got a little bit more sheepish as Mac's brow furrowed, full of questions at this break from Christmas tradition. 'I…uh…forgot to order a turkey, and this was all the butcher had left.' His expression became more sheepish, glancing from the pastrami to his BFF. 'Sorry, man, I know it's your first Christmas back home and all and I really wanted it to be special…'

Mac shook his head, walking into the kitchen to put an arm around Bozer's shoulders.

'Trust me, Boze, being home for Christmas, spending Christmas with you and Penny and Jack, _that's_ what's going to make it special, not what we eat for dinner.' Mac's expression grew a little less serious, his grin wider, lighter, though his words were no less heartfelt. 'Besides, A, anything you make is at least five times' better than what they served in the Mess, and infinitely better than MREs, and B, your pastrami is amazing, so no complaints here.'

Bozer grinned at his best friend.

'Thanks, bro.' Mac grinned back, as Bozer gestured to the grill outside on the deck. 'But next year, you're doing your thing to the grill so the pastrami doesn't take half the day, okay?'

Mac quirked an eyebrow at the shorter man.

'Next year?'

Bozer shrugged, his grin moving a little closer to a smirk.

'Well, we should make a tradition out of it! When life gives you lemons and all!' He pointed at Mac. 'I'm taking a leaf out of your book, man…well, kinda.'

Mac chuckled and shook his head fondly.

'As I said, your pastrami's delicious, so as long as you keep doing your first-class turkey for Thanksgiving, I'll buy into that.'

Bozer's face took on a _what-do-you-take-me-for_ expression.

'Mac, bro, doing pastrami for Christmas is being creative. Doing anything but turkey for Thanksgiving is _blasphemy_! And that is never, ever happening in this house!'

* * *

AN: It is my headcanon that Mac and Bozer do pastrami for Christmas because Bozer forgot to order a turkey and channelled his roommate and improvised. I use this headcanon frequently because I love it so much!

Tomorrow's ficlet: I know what you're thinking. A, I'm crazy, and B, I must have spent a fortune on candy canes.

What's the Christmas MacGyverism? Tune in tomorrow to find out!


	13. December 13th

AN: Canon-compliant with Season 1 and Season 2 (so far). No knowledge of _Every End is a Beginning_ required.

* * *

 **MACGYVER'S RESIDENCE**

 **LA**

* * *

Mac hummed along to _Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer_ as he carefully added yet another candy cane to his Christmas tree, which was made predominantly of candy canes, with some paperclips and duct tape for added structural integrity and aesthetic variation.

The candy cane Christmas tree was now a little over 5 feet tall, and he planned to add another 2 feet of height to it.

(He was quite sure – his math was rarely wrong, after all, and he'd checked it twice, in the spirit of a certain Christmas carol – that he'd have enough candy canes to do that.)

(There were still 240, in 10 boxes of 24, at his feet.)

* * *

 _I know what you're thinking. A, I'm crazy, and B, I must have spent a fortune on candy canes._

 _I didn't, actually, for the record._

 _I bought all of these last year, in the post-Christmas sales. Got them all for at least 50% off. They've been sitting in the attic ever since, waiting for this Christmas to come around. Some of them are a little sticky and a bit misshapen due to going through an LA summer, but they're definitely still fit for purpose, so definitely a bargain._

 _As for the being crazy bit?_

 _Well, I don't have much of a response to that…except, well, just look at it! It's awesome, even if I say so myself._

* * *

Mac hummed along to _Let it Snow_ as he put the finishing touches on the duct-tape star to go at the top of the tree, then reached up, standing on his toes, to put it in place.

He took a step back and admired his handiwork for a moment, a grin breaking out on his face.

* * *

 _See?_

* * *

Tomorrow's ficlet: 'I'm sorry for taking apart the toaster, Dad…so I bought you a new one.'

Who says that? And to whom? And when?


	14. December 14th

AN: Set pre-canon (like really, really pre-canon), and canon-compliant with Season 1 and Season 2 (so far). No knowledge of _Every End is a Beginning_ required.

* * *

 **MACGYVER FAMILY RESIDENCE**

 **MISSION CITY**

 **CALIFORNIA**

* * *

Mac grinned as he picked up the relatively large rectangular box, slightly-messily wrapped in festive wrapping paper, showing off the gap in his teeth (he'd lost his first tooth just two days ago, and was suitably proud at showing signs of growing up), and, walking past his grandfather, plonked the box on his dad's lap.

He really missed his mom. He missed her hugs and her smile and her apple pie and how she always smelt like _home._

And it was Christmas.

She should be here, sitting with him under the Christmas tree and helping him sort through all the boxes and wrapping paper for the bits he wanted to keep to make something with, cooking and eating dinner with him and his dad and his grandfather.

But his grandfather (who was, in Mac's opinion, the wisest man ever) had said that everything happened for a reason, so there had to be a reason why he'd lost his mom.

And he still had his dad, and his grandfather, of course, so while that didn't make it _okay_ that his mom was gone, he was okay.

As his dad opened Mac's present, Mac's expression turned more sheepish.

'I'm sorry for taking apart the toaster, Dad…' He'd just really, really wanted to know how it worked, and he'd gotten carried away. '…so I bought you a new one.'

He gestured to the box, which contained a brand-new toaster, which Mac had bought with his painstakingly saved-up pocket money, after asking his grandfather to take him to the appliances store so he could pick one out.

James MacGyver smiled and reached out and ruffled his son's hair.

'Thanks, Gus.' Mac grinned up at him, as James paused for a moment, and his voice and expression were serious, though fond, when he spoke again. 'Just make sure you ask for permission next time you take apart something that isn't yours, okay?'

Mac nodded solemnly, before his brow furrowed.

'But what if aliens invade and I have to make something to save the planet and there's no time and-'

James and Harry both chuckled, and Mac's grandfather reached out to ruffle Mac's hair too, which made Mac make a face.

(He mostly liked the feeling, liked the affection, but it made his hair stick up funny, which wasn't very comfortable.)

'Bud, if you're taking something apart to save the world or save a life, people will forgive you.'

James nodded in agreement, and set aside the toaster and reached out to grab another wrapped box.

'And here's my gift for you, Gus.'

Eagerly, Mac unwrapped the present, to reveal a children's chemistry set, which made his eyes widen and a big, big grin spread over his face.

That made his dad and his grandfather grin widely too, and the two of them exchanged a glance.

(If only Ellen was here to see this…)

Meanwhile, Mac had managed to tear his eyes and attention away from the chemistry set, and he got up off the floor and hugged his dad very, very tightly.

Harry Jackson simply smiled a little wider.

 _We miss you so much, Ellen._

 _I miss you so much._

 _But you can see your boy from up there, can't you? See who he's growing into?_

 _He's gonna be a handful, but a good one, I reckon._

* * *

AN: Or, in which Harry Jackson may or may not have inadvertently started Mac's constant petty (mostly) theft/property damage…and voiceovers may or may not be hereditary. Also, I know that absolutely nowhere in canon have they established that Mac has any interest in toasters whatsoever (we know he loves airbags, paperclips, duct tape, his Swiss Army knife and DVD players, so I argue that a fondness for toasters is logical)…but I keep writing that he is obsessed with them and can't help it! (It started with me craving pancakes and walking through the kitchen and seeing our toaster about a year ago…and it snowballed.)

Tomorrow's ficlet: 'This, Riley, is my Ultimate Christmas Dessert! Guaranteed flavour explosion!'

What's in Bozer's Ultimate Christmas Dessert? Find out tomorrow!


	15. December 15th

AN: This one won't make much sense (well, the first part probably will, but not the second) if you haven't read _Every End is a Beginning._ It is set the Christmas immediately after the end of that story.

* * *

 **MACGYVER'S RESIDENCE**

 **LA  
**

* * *

'Boze…what in the world is _that_?'

Riley raised a sceptical eyebrow and gestured to the _thing_ on the kitchen counter (it looked a little bit like a Christmas cake, and there was something that looked like bread…and there was ice cream in it too…) that Bozer was carefully crafting. Her boyfriend simply straightened up and gestured grandly to the _thing._

'This, Riley, is my Ultimate Christmas Dessert! Guaranteed flavour explosion!'

(The way he said it made it quite clear that its name was capitalized.)

Riley nodded, still a little sceptical.

(Bozer's cooking was excellent. He'd never made anything that she'd disliked. But still…it looked like the result of several Christmas desserts being put through some machine attached to both Mac and Bozer's brains…or something that Jack would assemble with glee from a buffet of Christmas desserts.)

'It looks like something that Jack would love.'

(It was well-known that Jack would happily eat very odd combinations of food – like hot sauce on Honey-Nut Cheerios or bacon _and_ wild berries on waffles.)

Bozer looked a little affronted for a moment, before he simply reached out and started assembling the scraps in front of him, leftover from the assembly of his Ultimate Christmas Dessert, into a mini-version.

Then, with a flourish, he handed it to Riley with a spoon.

'We'll make a convert out of you yet, milady. Just you wait and see.' Bozer reached his arms out grandly, then wrapped one around her waist. 'When have my cooking skills ever let you down?' He gave a smirk. 'In fact, when have my cooking skills ever let anyone down?' Bozer paused. 'Well, aside from the molecular gastronomy phase, but…'

(He and Mac had made a pinkie-promise at the end of that phase to never tell the stories of it. Bozer – with Mac's permission – had eventually shared them with Riley and Jack, with Mac interjecting every now and then with a correction or a wry observation.)

Riley shook her head with a fond smile, leaning a little closer for a moment, then took a bite of the dessert.

As it hit her taste buds, her eyes widened.

A moment later, the most amazed look, a slightly dazed look, appeared on her face.

'Boze, this is…this is…this might be the most amazing thing I've ever eaten!'

She swallowed and kissed him soundly (leaving Bozer a little bit dazed, too), then dug into the rest of the serving he'd prepared for her.

Bozer decided then and there that he was definitely making this a new Christmas tradition for their family.

He also decided that he had to hide the actual Ultimate Christmas Dessert from Riley, lest she eat it all before everyone else got to try it.

* * *

Later that evening, as Mac took Bozer's Ultimate Christmas Dessert (it looked like a Christmas-cake-stollen-panettone-ice-cream hybrid) out of the freezer, he glanced over at his girlfriend, who was dishing up the chocolate gingerbread pie she'd made.

'Beth, do you have any idea how this is supposed to be served?'

She stared at it and him for a moment, before giving a wry little smile.

'Angus MacGyver, stumped? The end must be nigh!'

* * *

AN: Bozer's Ultimate Christmas Dessert may well be disgusting; I haven't even eaten all of the things in it, so…I do not take responsibility if your attempt to replicate it produces a foul-tasting concoction.

Tomorrow's ficlet: Christmas? Who cared?

Any guesses as to what tomorrow's ficlet's focus is? Or whom?


	16. December 16th

AN: Set pre-canon, canon-compliant with Season 1 and Season 2 (so far). No need to know anything about the _Every End is a Beginning_ AU.

Sorry that this is so late; I was really busy with some personal stuff yesterday, so didn't have time to post!

Thoughts on 2.11, Bullet + Pen, at the end of this chapter, with spoilers.

* * *

 **SUPERMAX PRISON**

 **LA**

* * *

Riley trooped into the prison cafeteria, uncaring and almost zombie-like, as she so often was.

Sure, she thought, as she picked up her tray, it was Christmas.

Big deal.

Not.

Christmas had never been a big deal to her and her mom.

The handful (precious handful, even if she wasn't going to admit it out-loud to anyone) of years when Jack had been around…Christmas had meant something then, at least.

But now, Jack was gone (Jack had _left_ , Jack had _abandoned_ them), and Riley was stuck in supermax.

At least her mom was safe, she told herself.

She'd done this all for her mom, and she'd do it all again in a heartbeat.

(Her mom was the only person she had, after all. The only person whom Riley loved. The only person who had always, always, always been there for her.)

Her mom was safe.

That was all that mattered.

Christmas? Who cared?

Riley sat down at her usual spot, and robotically brought the spork to her mouth.

At least the food was a little better today.

* * *

AN: Why does everyone have to have a tragic backstory, I ask, as I write more and more depressing stuff about them…

Tomorrow's ficlet: 'You know, Patricia's the best spy in the business, and Jack's an extremely competent covert operative, despite appearances, so…the probability of us succeeding is less than 10%.'

Who is up to mischief? What kind of mischief are they up to? Any guesses?

Thoughts on 2.11, Bullet + Pen: Probably the best episode of the season, methinks! Lots of great moments and feels – that war room scene at the start was amazing, Mac and Bozer with Mac being a good bro was too, and Mac's inability to rule out the existence of Santa! I also really liked the little Jack and Riley scene near the closing, the Bozer/pastrami stuff and Mac and Matty's little moment (Yay for letting Mac have his right to ruin paperclips!). Of course, the whole premise (only Mac would get arrested for murder and domestic terrorism and take down a drug and arms dealing cartel…) was also awesome. Murdoc targeting Cage – why? He clearly knows something about her...obviously Cage's secret gets revealed next ep, as does whatever's going on with Mac's dad (does anyone else think that the gift from Mac's dad is a bomb or somehow tied to Murdoc?), which means that episode 12 of this season is probably going to be as crazy as Screwdriver was…hopefully the plot doesn't do something as nonsensical as Screwdriver…

There will be no episode tag from me this week; there's nowhere to go in my opinion right now, because of the way it ended. However, there'll probably be something new from me during the wait until January 5th; I've got an idea or two from this ep – stay tuned to _Somewhere in the Middle._


	17. December 17th

AN: This is not going to make sense if you haven't read _Every End is a Beginning,_ I'm afraid, though it might also make sense if you've read _Just Another Patriotic Guy,_ now that I think about it…Anyway, for those who have read _Every End is a Beginning,_ it is set the Christmas after it ends.

* * *

 **MACGYVER'S RESIDENCE**

 **LA**

* * *

'…And that's another failure.'

Riley and Bozer exchanged disappointed looks as their fourth carefully-concocted plan failed. Mac, their co-conspirator (who'd only come on-board a couple of hours ago, and was far less dedicated to the cause than they were, since he was mostly revenge-motivated, after all), raised an eyebrow, absent-mindedly toying with a paperclip in his hands, which was taking the shape of a sprig of mistletoe.

'You know, Patricia's the best spy in the business, and Jack's an extremely competent covert operative, despite appearances, so…' Mac looked up at the ceiling as he did some quick mental calculations. '…the probability of us succeeding is less than 10%.' Bozer and Riley both crossed their arms and glared daggers at him, and Mac put up his hands in supplication. 'Don't shoot the messenger; probability is just probability. It's nothing personal!'

Bozer and Riley exchanged a glance, then both nodded decisively, and Riley pointed firmly at Mac.

'Time to start Plan E. Get into position, Mac.'

Bozer was already moving to get into his position for Plan E, and with a rather wry smile and a little, long-suffering shake of his head, Mac started moving too.

Meanwhile, Riley surveyed the scene in front of her.

She and Bozer (probably with Mac's help, and maybe Beth's too) were going to get Jack and Patricia caught under the mistletoe _eventually._

It was really just a matter of how many attempts (and how many Christmases) it would take.

(She was _not_ going to give up.)

* * *

AN: The kids are trying to get Mom and Dad together! How adorable, right? ;)

Tomorrow's ficlet: He missed not being alone for Christmas. He missed being with family for Christmas.

Any guesses as to who is feeling lonely at Christmas-time?


	18. December 18th

AN: Set pre-canon, canon-compliant with Season 1 and Season 2 (so far). No knowledge of _Every End is a Beginning_ required.

* * *

 **ALL-NIGHT DINER**

 **(PRETTY MUCH EMPTY ALL-NIGHT DINER)**

 **LA**

* * *

Jack sighed as he ate his steak, eggs and fries, not really tasting the food at all.

It was 2 am on Christmas morning, and here he was, sitting in an all-night diner with one waitress and one fry cook (who, to _really_ rub it in, were flirting with each other over the counter).

He'd only gotten in from his mission at 9 pm on Christmas Eve, and debrief had taken two hours, even if Patty had done her best to minimise how long it'd taken. It didn't matter – debrief or no debrief, it was far too late to head down to Dallas to his sister's place for Christmas.

That meant that Jack was spending Christmas resoundingly alone.

He took a deep draught of his coffee, wishing it was Irish coffee.

He sighed.

He missed spending Christmas with his sister and her husband and their kids. Missed the noise and mess and the being-all-up-in-each-other's-business, and his sister's really misguided and extremely obvious attempts to set him up, and her really-not-good cooking, even the bacon stuffing (which was the only thing containing bacon he'd ever eaten that wasn't great).

He missed Christmases, those quiet, low-key, nothing-special, but still _family_ Christmases he'd spent with Diane and Riley those handful of years when they'd been _family._

(That made his heart ache very painfully, his mind cloud with regrets, so Jack somewhat forcefully shoved another bite of very rare steak – just how he liked it, though he couldn't care less right now – into his mouth, chewing far harder than necessary.)

He missed his and Sarah's makeshift Christmas celebrations, that little ceremony they used to mark Christmas, the little tradition they fulfilled as close to the date as they could, wherever they were. Going out for beer in some local dive bar, eating their body weight in local bar food, laughing and teasing and challenging one another to stupid drinking competitions or games of darts or whatever the local bar games were.

He missed not being alone for Christmas.

He missed being with family for Christmas.

(He'd always thought, in some part of his mind, even if it'd been buried and ignored and not a priority for years – he was young, he was handsome and charming, he liked flirting, liked the chase, he travelled all the time, he wanted to have fun, be a sort-of girl-in-every-port kind of guy like James Bond – that he'd have the whole wife-kids-white-picket-fence thing.)

(He kind of had, for a while. Even if he and Diane weren't married. Even if Riley wasn't his biologically. Even if none of the three of them were really traditional white-picket-fence types.)

(And then he'd messed up.)

Jack sighed again and drained his coffee cup and dropped some notes on the table, getting up and heading for the door.

There was a large bottle of good old Texas whiskey and the entire works of Bruce Willis ( _Die Hard_ was _totally_ a Christmas movie) back at Chez Dalton waiting for him.

* * *

AN: Poor, poor you, Jack, I'm really sorry to do that to you…but hey, soon enough, you're going to find yourself with some surrogate kids (they're a handful, but a good handful) and plenty of family to spend Christmas with! (You'll also find yourself missing your sister's bacon stuffing…)

Jack-likes-really-rare-steak is my personal headcanon (see _Irreconcilable Differences)_ and the reason why Jack says that Mac can't cook when Mac says he'll make him a steak in 2.07, Duct Tape + Jack.

Tomorrow's ficlet: 'I got you a very nice present with some very special wrapping to unwrap later…'

Who says that? To whom? When? Any guesses?


	19. December 19th

AN: Set pre-canon, the Christmas before the show starts. No knowledge of _Every End is a Beginning_ required.

* * *

 **MACGYVER'S RESIDENCE**

 **LA**

* * *

Mac smiled to himself as he slipped through the door between the house and the deck, heading back inside to grab a couple more beers from the fridge. (He really needed to get an Esky…maybe he could make one that would open itself…)

A moment later, as he opened the fridge door, he heard very familiar footsteps behind him. His smile widened a little, and he turned after grabbing the beer to find his girlfriend standing in the living room. Mac's smile widened further into a grin, and holding the beer in one hand, he strode over to where she was standing (very strategically, he might add).

Nikki smirked and pointed at the ceiling.

'Oh, look, mistletoe.'

(Penny had brought it and demanded he suspend it from the ceiling, as she seemed to do every year, no matter how few people they had over for Christmas.)

Mac gave a little chuckle, shaking his head fondly as a small smirk of his own grew on his face, and Nikki wound her arms around his neck, and he ducked his head a little to kiss her.

When they broke apart, breathing being necessary, Nikki stilled with her face only a couple of inches away from his, and smirking again, she reached up a little to whisper into his ear, brushing her lips just ever so slightly over his jaw as she did so.

'I got you a very nice present with some very special wrapping to unwrap later…'

And with that rather brain-frying promise (make no mistake, he knew it was definitely a promise), she stole one of the beers in his hand and sauntered away, that very special swing in her hips that he knew promised an _interesting_ night.

Mac grinned, looking out onto the deck where Jack, Bozer, Penny and Patricia were all talking, laughing (well, at least the former three were, though Patricia had an amused little smile on her face) and nibbling on various Christmas-themed snacks, as Nikki joined them again.

He started walking back out onto the deck to join his friends, his family, grin widening further.

 _Life can't get any better than this._

* * *

AN: Yes, this is very, very sad…poor, poor, poor Mac...

And yes, this is also the moment when Mac decides to make his self-opening Esky as featured in _Every End is a Beginning._

Tomorrow's ficlet: 'Of course it's you, Mac, I don't know why I even considered it could be a burglar…'

This one is a little tricky to guess, I think – but who says that?


	20. December 20th

AN: This is set pre-canon and is canon-compliant with Season 1 and Season 2 (so far), except for the fact that as per the _Every End is a Beginning_ AU, Mac's dad left when he was 12 (which was what Jack said in one of the very early episodes of Season 1), not when he was 10 (which was what Bozer said in Flashlight and what they seem to have decided to run with). Honestly, 12 makes more sense, because Mr Ericson (Mac's 8th grade science teacher) noticed his grades were slipping when his dad left, and if Mac's dad left when he was 10, Mac was in the 8th grade at 10, and thus would have finished high school at 14, which meant he would have been 16 when he left MIT for the Army, which doesn't make much sense at all, unless, of course, Mr Ericson also taught Mac in earlier grades…anyway, exactly how old Mac was when his dad left really isn't all that important, so rant over.

No knowledge of the _Every End is a Beginning_ AU is needed for this to make sense (except maybe the age bit above).

* * *

 **MR ERICSON'S CLASSROOM**

 **MISSION CITY JUNIOR HIGH**

 **MISSION CITY**

 **CALIFORNIA**

* * *

Mac swore under his breath as he heard footsteps coming down the corridor.

(He really wasn't supposed to be here. It was Christmas Eve, the school was closed, and he wasn't even a student here anymore; he was a freshman at Mission City High – at 12, the youngest freshman, which was…well, not fun; it'd have been unbearable if not for Bozer and Penny, in Mac's mind.)

(But even though he loved his grandfather, even though they were going to have Christmas dinner with Bozer's family this year – who were all excellent cooks – Mac hadn't wanted to be at home this morning, especially since Bozer was busy learning all of the details of his family's secret recipes and helping to prepare dinner, so couldn't keep him company.)

(So he'd snuck in – well, technically, broken in – to Mr Ericson's classroom, his favourite of all the labs in the building, because it was his favourite teacher's, and Mr Ericson still let him keep a couple of projects in the back room, to work on something to keep his hands and hopefully his brain busy.)

His beloved 8th grade science teacher stuck his head into the room, and he gave a wry little smile, shaking his head.

'Of course it's you, Mac, I don't know why I even considered it could be a burglar…'

Mac looked very sheepish.

'Sorry, Mr Ericson…'

Mr Ericson simply smiled, something long-suffering and exasperated and fond in his smile, in his eyes.

'Well, you're lucky it was me and not Coach Wilson.' Coach Wilson had something against Mac; he really hadn't been happy that Mac had made lightning in the Gym, even if it hadn't left any lasting damage. Mac nodded, again quite sheepishly, with a wry little smile. Mr Ericson gestured to the robot (or rather, robot-in-progress) that Mac had been working on. 'That your Science Fair project?'

Mac nodded rather proudly, as he started showing off the robot to his favourite teacher, explaining the plans he had.

'It's predominantly made of recycled DVD players, and I'm building a gyroscope system for the arm, for extra stability…'

Mr Ericson simply listened, fascinated, interjecting every now and then to offer a suggestion or praise or encouragement or a gentle warning to not test it out on the football field.

(He'd always been supportive of Mac, in all ways.)

(Did everything he could to challenge him intellectually in class. Encouraged Mac's 'extra-curricular activities', doing everything he could to gently divert them away from being destructive – accidentally; Mac never set out to _cause_ trouble, it just tended to _happen_ when he got too carried away. Entered Mac into the District Science Fair, and then the State one, and even a National one. Had noticed Mac's grades slipping, even if it was only very marginally, and worked out that there was something very wrong towards the end of 8th grade, when his dad had left.)

* * *

Mac left the school a few hours later to get ready for Christmas dinner, heading out the front door instead of through a window.

He turned and smiled at his 8th grade science teacher.

'Merry Christmas, Mr Ericson.'

Mr Ericson smiled right back.

'Merry Christmas, Mac.'

* * *

AN: I firmly believe that Mr Ericson was a very important influence in Mac's life, which is reflected in The Darkness Inside in _Two Paperclips and a Stick of Gum._

Tomorrow's ficlet: 'You know, when I finally get around to making that movie I'm planning in which our titular hero MacGyver saves the world, with his team of course, I'm totally making you the endgame love interest.'

Now that's pretty obvious, methinks…and yes, that's kind-of a meta joke that just skims the fourth wall…


	21. December 21st

AN: This is set the Christmas right after _Every End is a Beginning_ ends and will not make sense if you haven't read it.

* * *

 **MACGYVER'S RESIDENCE**

 **LA**

* * *

'You know, when I finally get around to making that movie I'm planning in which our titular hero MacGyver saves the world, with his team of course, I'm totally making you the endgame love interest.'

Bozer pointed at Beth, who was in the kitchen with him, putting the finishing touches on her chocolate gingerbread pie as he worked on sides for dinner, a broad grin on his face.

Beth blinked at him, before a bright, fond and slightly amused smile appeared on her face.

(It was a very Bozer way of putting a very clear stamp of endorsement on her relationship with Mac.)

(Given Mac's terrible ex-girlfriend – and even the Darlene Martin Prom Incident – that meant _a lot_ , coming from him.)

'Well, you'd better make sure that MacGyver's always-loyal, always-supportive best friend who has been there for him since they were nine and eleven respectively gets plenty of screen-time too.' Beth's expression softened and grew more serious. 'He's very lucky to have you, Bozer.'

(A best friend, a real, true, supportive best friend, who loved you just as you were, from the 5th grade all through school and now well into adulthood…that, Beth knew, was something very, very special.)

(It was, she thought, even more special when you were that weird, awkward, genius kid two years younger than everyone else, who got picked on and laughed at and left out of everything from birthday parties to lunch table groups to games of tag.)

Bozer just smiled widely, something fond and understanding in his expression, and reached over to put an arm around Beth's shoulders to pull her into a side-hug.

The two of them stood there for a moment, looking outside onto the deck, where Jack was strumming Christmas carols on Mary-Ellen's guitar as Riley sung along softly while stacking the Christmas crackers for later, making sure that Mac (who was supervising the pastrami; there'd been a fire last time they'd used his modified grill, so he'd had to make some repairs, and he'd been given very strict orders by Bozer to make sure it didn't happen this time) did not get his hands on them.

(No-one wanted a repeat of the Christmas of '15, when Mac's modified Christmas crackers had scorched six planks of the deck so deeply that sanding out the marks would have left inch-deep depressions in the wood.)

Then, Bozer clapped Beth's shoulder, and stepped away, returning to chopping cabbage, gesturing with his head to the pie on which she was carefully piping meringue topping with the precision of a surgeon.

'Now, how can I convince you to give me the recipe for that baby?'

Beth finished piping the last of the meringue, set down her piping bag, and looked up at him with a laugh, tilting her head to the side a little as she considered for a beat before responding.

'How about a trade? You give me the recipe for your mac and cheese, and I'll give you the recipe for this.'

Bozer pretended to consider very seriously for a moment.

'Well, it's a secret family recipe and all…' His face broke into a wide smile. 'But you're family, so...' He pointed at her. 'You've got yourself a deal.'

* * *

Tomorrow's ficlet: 'Love what you did with the lights. It's classy and dignified and intimate in the sense that, you know, most people won't get it and all…I'm gonna stop talking now.'

Pretty sure it's obvious who says that…


	22. December 22nd

AN: This is set the Christmas after _Every End is a Beginning_ concludes, but will make sense even if you haven't read it.

* * *

 **MACGYVER'S RESIDENCE**

 **LA**

* * *

Mac shot Riley a thumbs-up as he finished stringing up the last of the Christmas lights along the front of his house. He stepped down off the ladder as Riley grinned and ran the code that she'd just finished (quick and easy, but definitely awesome, even if she said so herself) on her laptop. Mac took a step back to admire their handiwork and grinned as the lights blinked in a very definite pattern.

Riley had coded the lights to flash messages like _Merry Christmas, Get Your Jingle Bells On_ and _Stop Here, Santa!_ in Morse code.

 _Most people won't get it._

 _They'll just see the pretty flashing lights and enjoy the show._

 _But I know one guy who'll be able to read this like a book…and I know Riley knows that._

 _It goes without saying that she knows that guy too._

Mac's grin widened a little, and he shot Riley a double-thumbs up as the hacker grinned proudly.

 _It also goes without saying that she probably had him in mind when she wrote that program._

Mac stepped closer to where Riley was perched and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, a gesture she returned, as they both grinned and watched the Morse-code Christmas lights.

 _Jack's going to love this._

* * *

After dinner, they all went out front to admire Mac and Riley's light display on the front of the house in the dark, and the light show's creators watched as Jack gazed up at the lights for a whole cycle of the Morse code flashes, before reaching out and putting an arm around each of them.

'Love what you did with the lights. It's classy and dignified and intimate in the sense that, you know, most people won't get it and all…' Jack made a face, seeming to realize that he was rambling slightly nonsensically. 'I'm gonna stop talking now.' He gestured at the lights again and smiled very fondly at both of them, squeezing their shoulders a little tighter. 'I love the lights.'

Mac raised an eyebrow at his partner, though he too was smiling affectionately.

' _You_ , stop talking?'

Riley snorted, and squeezing Jack back just as tightly, leaned over him to stage-whisper to Mac.

'I think Matty _did_ spike that egg nog…'

Jack did sound a little drunk. The older man nodded wryly, the nod also looking a little drunken.

'If you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth…'

Mac and Riley exchanged another glance. Riley spoke, her voice reflecting their mutual surprise.

'Did Jack just quote Sherlock Holmes?'

Mac shook his head at Jack, equal parts long-suffering exasperation and deep affection, love.

'Matty spiking your egg nog was not an improbable event, Jack, though the _spirit_ of the quote is certainly appropriate…'

* * *

AN: #AccidentalKidAcquisition #ExceptThey'reNotActuallyKids #ButTheyMakePinkiePromises #AndPlayTruthOrDare

Tomorrow's ficlet: 'Hey, Patty. Don't tell me you've got a last-minute assignment for me…'

Again, this one is probably also obvious…


	23. December 23rd

AN: Set pre-canon and canon-compliant with Season 1 and Season 2 (so far). No need to have read _Every End is a Beginning._

* * *

 **DXS HEADQUARTERS**

 **SOMEWHERE IN LA**

* * *

'Jack.'

In the locker room, where he was picking up the weekend bag he'd had stashed in his locker, ready to head straight to the airport to fly to Dallas to spend Christmas with his sister and her family, Jack looked up as his boss, who was standing in the doorway with her hands behind her back, addressed him.

'Hey, Patty.' Jack glanced at her hands, which were doubtlessly clasped around a file behind her back. 'Don't tell me you've got a last-minute assignment for me…'

He'd already had to miss last Christmas with his sister due to a mission. He'd spent it alone in a diner eating steak and eggs and fries that he couldn't even taste, then getting really, really drunk on his best liquor while watching _Die Hard._

(The hangover had not been worth it.)

Thornton gave a little smile, a little wry and also (Jack swore he was not imagining this) a little apologetic, a little sorry.

'No. I have an update, that's all.' The smile disappeared completely, replaced with her usual, slightly-concerned, business-like expression. 'That latest intel you got us suggests The Scion isn't a domestic organization; they're a sleeper cell linked to a major terrorist organization with two key branches in Iraq and Afghanistan.' Something very wry flickered across her face. 'In hindsight, we should have known that from the name.'

Jack couldn't help but give a little smile.

His all-business, cool-headed and cool-hearted (but not completely cold-hearted, Jack swore, even if he knew most disagreed with him) boss had just made a joke.

It was a Christmas miracle.

Then, Jack sighed, running a hand through his hair.

This mission, his main, long-term assignment, was getting bigger and bigger and worse and worse.

'Am I heading back to the Sandbox, then, Patty?'

She gave a slight half-shrug.

'It's likely, Jack.'

He sighed again.

'Well, that's something to worry 'bout when I get back.'

She nodded, and finally pulled her hands out from behind her back. To his surprise, she held out a small, tastefully-wrapped box, with a Martha-Stewart-worthy bow on it.

'Merry Christmas, Jack.'

He reached out and took it, a very touched smile appearing on his face that grew into a grin.

'Patty...you shouldn't have.' He really had not expected her to buy him a Christmas present. They were friends, or, at least, as close friends as a lifelong spy could be with a guy who'd worked highly-classified ops for well over fifteen years when said spy was also said guy's boss, but she was _Patty._ Gift exchanges didn't really seem her style. Still, Jack carefully put her present into his bag, then pulled out another more messily-wrapped gift, the box a little bigger than the one she'd given him. He held it out to her with one of those oddly-heartfelt, slightly-crazy Jack Dalton grins. 'Merry Christmas, Patty.'

(His boss had a soft spot for soft-centred dark Belgian chocolates.)

(Don't ask how he knew that.)

(It was actually classified.)

She smiled back at him, a small smile, but one that seemed very genuine, almost warm, nonetheless, shaking her head a little in a way that Jack was pretty sure was affectionate.

'Thanks, Jack.'

Jack turned to grab a couple more things from his locker.

'See you after Christmas, Patty.'

She just gave a little nod in acknowledgement and left the locker room.

Jack gathered his things and shoved them in his bag, the tastefully-wrapped Christmas gift catching his eye.

He took it out, held it in his hands for a moment.

Eh, he could open one present early…

Jack started undoing the ribbon.

* * *

AN: What did Patty buy Jack for Christmas? We'll never know…

And yes, this is very sad in hindsight, knowing what's going to happen in the future…

Tomorrow's ficlet: 'I…I can't imagine how terrible it would be if you went from _this_ kind of Christmas to _that_ kind of Christmas…'


	24. December 24th

AN: This is set during _Every End is a Beginning,_ during the 'episode' 2.09, Scrubs. It won't make much sense if you haven't read it.

* * *

 **MACGYVER'S RESIDENCE**

 **LA**

* * *

'Being in prison was terrible…' Riley, voice quiet and a bit hesitant, glanced over at the older woman sitting on the deck beside her. Patricia was sipping Gatorade, which Dr Farnham had told her and Jack to drink plenty of while they recovered from their bout of leptospirosis. '…but holidays like Christmas were just that little bit worse.' Riley gave a half-shrug, her voice growing a little sadder, a little quieter. 'And Christmas was never a big deal for me and my mom.' She gestured to the grill area, where Bozer was loudly singing Christmas carols, very out of tune, while he tended to the pastrami, and then to inside, which, like the deck, had been decorated extravagantly. Jack was dancing along to the carols as he headed towards the bathroom, while Mac was vacuuming frantically. Then, Riley looked down at the decking. 'I…I can't imagine how terrible it would be if you went from _this_ kind of Christmas to _that_ kind of Christmas…' After a moment, she looked up, turning to Patricia, and her voice was very soft when she spoke. 'I'm glad you didn't have to go through that.'

Patricia gave a sad little smile, staring at Riley for a moment, something deeply grateful and deeply affectionate in her eyes.

She reached out, a little hesitantly, and squeezed Riley's shoulder gently.

'I'm very, very grateful.'

She didn't specify what for.

Riley got the sense that it was meant both ways.

(She was right.)

* * *

AN: *sniffles* We could have had this. It could have been like this. *sniffles again*

Tomorrow's ficlet: _Christmas is a time for family. A time for your loved ones._


	25. December 25th

AN: This is set the Christmas right after _Every End is a Beginning,_ but no knowledge of it is required for this last ficlet.

* * *

 **MACGYVER'S RESIDENCE**

 **LA**

* * *

Mac, his stomach full of delicious food, including Bozer's incredible pastrami (which had not caught fire…this time), grinned as he looked around the deck, at his friends, his _family_ , all talking and laughing and getting into the Christmas spirit; drinking egg nog, pulling crackers, even singing carols.

He reached out and grabbed a cracker from the stack (unfortunately, _not_ modified – everyone else had been _very_ insistent about that – he got that nobody wanted the deck to get badly singed again, he didn't want it singed either, he'd had to replace six planks after 2015's Christmas, but he'd adjusted the formula…), and held the other end out to Jack with a little smirk and a raised brow.

Jack pointed a finger gun at him and grinned right back, then shifted his egg nog ( _not_ spiked this time) to his other hand, grabbed the other end and pulled.

The cracker went off with a bang, and Jack and Mac grabbed the contents, Mac shoving the silly paper crown on his partner's head, as Jack read out the predictably-awful joke and actually chortled.

Mac rolled his eyes and shook his head, reaching out to put an arm around Jack's shoulders, a gesture that the older man returned.

The two of them looked out at the rest of their family, both with very similar smiles on their faces.

 _Christmas is a time for family._

 _A time for your loved ones._

 _Time to spend with them, eat great food, enjoy great drinks, to laugh, to talk and sing, even if you're tone deaf. Time to make merry._

 _But it's that first bit that's most important._

 _The most important thing about Christmas isn't eating turkey or ham or goose or even pastrami, or drinking egg nog that may or may not be spiked, or getting caught under the mistletoe with that special someone._

 _No, the most important bit is spending it with the people you love._

 _And that's exactly what I'm doing._

Mac's smile widened a little more.

 _Merry Christmas, everyone._

* * *

AN: Well, Mac already said it for me, but Merry Christmas to all those who celebrate! And a very happy Hanukkah or Kwanzaa to those who celebrate those holidays, and happy winter (or summer, if you're a Southern Hemisphere inhabitant like me) break to everyone else!


End file.
